The rhizosphere influence on the soil microbiome and function of crop
wild progenitors remains virtually unknown, despite its relevance to
develop microbiome-oriented tools in sustainable agriculture. Here, we
quantified the rhizosphere influence -- a comparison between rhizosphere
and bulk soil samples -- on bacterial, fungal, protists and
invertebrates communities and on soil multifunctionality across nine
crop wild progenitors in their sites of origin. Overall, rhizosphere
influence was higher on abundant taxa across the four microbial groups,
and had a positive influence on increased rhizosphere carbon storage and
nutrient contents compared to bulk soils. The rhizosphere influence on
abundant soil microbiomes were more important for soil
multifunctionaility than rare taxa and envirommental conditions. Our
results are a starting point to uncover the roles of both abundant and
rare soil taxa in enhancing multifunctionality in agroecosystems.